Time flew by.
Three years had elapsed since Luo Chen returned from Ice Fort.
Over these three years, his prolific concoction of pills had enabled him to maintain a steady supply of high-grade Jade Dew Pills for Ice Fort.
His deduction of the second-rank Nether-Passage Pill recipe had also reached a successful conclusion.
After upgrading the second-rank primary ingredients and substituting eighteen auxiliary materials, Luo Chen had confirmed through the system panel that the recipe was viable for initiation.
Then, relying on his own alchemical prowess, he attained basic mastery without external aid.
Though he had wasted some raw materials in the process, he had conserved precious achievement points.
With that, second-rank Nether-Passage Pills gradually began to roll out of his cauldron.
Even though each furnace yielded a mere three pills, he kept two for himself and supplied the remaining one to Chu Kui. By consuming it, Chu Kui could fortify his divine soul foundation and practice the secret art of the Locking Bead Curtain.
For Luo Chen himself, the greatest bounty went far beyond this.
Once he had ground his proficiency in both the Blood-Augmenting Pill and the Dust-Descending Pill to the Great Perfection level—enabling him to refine peak-grade pills of both kinds—his cultivation speed underwent a staggering surge!
On this day, inside his immortal's cave, Luo Chen snapped his eyes open.
His gaze brimmed with unconcealed delight.
"Doubled!"
"Even without the aid of a pseudo-third-rank spiritual ground, I have still doubled my cultivation speed on top of my previous baseline!"
Feeling the lingering, surging blood vitality inside him being absorbed by his physique, alongside the newly condensed, pure spiritual power flowing into his sea of qi, his joy lingered for a long time.
The medicinal potency of peak-grade Blood-Augmenting Pills was terrifyingly potent!
Even a peak-grade Dust-Descending Pill could not digest one completely.
Often, it took two Dust-Descending Pills to refine essence into qi and barely consume a single peak-grade Blood-Augmenting Pill.
Even then, surplus vitality remained to be absorbed naturally by his physique.
This was not merely because peak-grade Blood-Augmenting Pills were extraordinary, but because refining them required the essence blood of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators!
The raw materials were simply too precious.
One could say that while Luo Chen appeared to be cultivating by swallowing pills, in truth, was he not absorbing the lifelong essence of the Foundation Establishment True Cultivators slain by the Blood Demon?
The lifelong essence of over a hundred Foundation Establishment True Cultivators was merging into Luo Chen's body alone.
Naturally, his cultivation speed surged through the roof!
Not only that!
"With the Clear Source Wondrous Alchemy Technique reaching Great Perfection, the effect described at the very beginning has finally manifested: it allows me to absorb and utilize the medicinal strength of pills to the utmost limit, without leaving behind any pill poison."
"It is precisely because the two complement each other so seamlessly that my cultivation speed could surge by yet another fold."
Who in the cultivation world could steadily consume second-rank peak-grade pills to aid their cultivation?
Setting aside the rarity of the primary ingredients, just to refine these two kinds of pills, Luo Chen had to spend a hundred thousand of the three hundred thousand spirit stones he earned each year on the other primary and auxiliary herbs.
He was no longer just eating pills to cultivate, nor was he merely absorbing the essence of perished cultivators.
He was burning through gold at a maniacal pace!
With a thought, his attribute panel unfurled like a shimmering curtain of water.
[Lifespan: 60/170]
[Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Realm: Eighth Layer Foundation Establishment 12/100, Primordial Third Rank 7/100]
[Cultivation Methods: Ageless Evergreen Scripture (Grandmaster 950/1000), Myriad Dao Confluence (Proficient 270/300), Myriad Beast Scripture (10/100)]
[Spells:
Third Rank: Ninety Thousand Li (Great Perfection), Mirror Flower, Water Moon (Proficient 201/300), Life-Severing Finger (Initiate 1/100)
Second Rank: Water Mirror Art (Great Perfection), Flower Fairy (Proficient 250/200), Spirit-Befuddling Technique (Proficient 281/300), Grass-Mowing Geng Metal Sword Art (Proficient 260/300), Five Elements Viscera Restitution Art (Adept 175/200)
First Rank: Soul Intimidation Art (Grandmaster 820/1000), Bone Restitution Art (Proficient 239/300), Limb Reattachment Art (Initiate 8/100)
Great Perfection Spells (Click to view details)]
[Alchemy Arts: Clear Source Wondrous Alchemy Technique (Great Perfection), Origin Cultivating Hand (Great Perfection), Scale Turning Hand (Consummate 375/500), Star-Plucking Hand (Grandmaster 700/1000). Great Perfection Alchemy Arts (Click to view details)]
[Martial Arts: Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw (Consummate 391/500), Blazing Miasma (Consummate 375/500), Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers (Grandmaster 771/1000), Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Shattering Palm (Great Perfection)]
[Professions: Second-Rank Alchemist, Second-Rank Physician
Second-Rank Pills: Blood-Augmenting Pill (Great Perfection), Dust-Descending Pill (Great Perfection), Nether-Passage Pill (Initiate 70/100), Emperor's Flowing Syrup (Initiate 12/100)
First-Rank Pills: Spirit-Nurturing Pellet (Great Perfection)
Great Perfection Pills (Click to view details)]
[Achievement Points: 59]
Looking at the dazzling array of entries, Luo Chen marveled for a brief moment before settling his mind.
He read through them line by line.
As for his realm and lifespan, he checked them every few days anyway, so there were no surprises there.
Upon breaking through to the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment, his maximum lifespan had indeed increased by another ten years, slightly making up for his deficit.
In contrast, the body-refining realm that he had relied on as his trump card in recent years was advancing far too slowly.
Even the proficiency of the third-rank body-refining art, Myriad Dao Confluence—which he had spent a fortune in achievement points to complete—had barely budged.
The reason for this state of affairs was not complicated.
"In the end, I lack an external catalyst!"
This cultivation technique was wonderful in every way, possessing almost no flaws or shortcomings.
Save for one thing.
An external force!
After all, when he created Myriad Dao Confluence, it was originally designed to digest the immense lightning energy surging into his body.
One could say that his current Primordial Third-Rank body-refining realm owed both its rise and its stall to lightning power!
Without a change in course, his body-refining realm would likely remain stagnant forever.
Even Myriad Dao Confluence, a masterwork synthesizing various arts, would be shelved for lack of that crucial catalyst.
However, Luo Chen already had the glimmerings of a new idea.
"Back when I created Myriad Dao Confluence, its essence lay in using the Heavenly Roc Transformation to borrow the Fire Roc in cultivating the Lightning Roc, and then using lightning to temper the body."
"Now, although I no longer have heavenly thunder, I possess fourth-rank Wither-Bloom Fire, which is in no way inferior to lightning."
"Could I return to the art's true essence and borrow fire to temper my body?"
This conjecture was by no means an unfounded fantasy.
The Heavenly Roc Transformation was inherently a beast-mimicking body-cultivation method. Initiating it with the essence blood of a Heavenly Fire Demon Roc would yield a Fire Roc True Body, while initiating it with the blood of a Lightning Roc or Golden Roc would cultivate their respective forms.
Now, Luo Chen had initiated the art with the essence blood of a Blazing Fire Cloud Roc, and supplementing it with Wither-Bloom Fire meant he could completely retrace that original path!
In fact, it would be an even better fit.
Moreover, the Wither-Bloom True Fire had already been refined by him. It would not harm his body like the heavenly thunder in the Soul Formation ruins of Mount Thunder Accumulation.
Cultivating with it was the proper, orthodox path.
In truth, this was an idea Luo Chen had gradually pieced together over the past few years while pondering the uses of Wither-Bloom Fire.
"Still, there's no rush!"
"I know too little about Wither-Bloom Fire. I need to find someone who participated in the battle of Incense Burning Valley and borrow some ancient records concerning the flame to study before making a final decision."
"Even the idea of using fire to temper my body must wait for later. The pressing task at hand is still forming my core."
Although he was still young, his deficiency in maximum lifespan remained a stone weighing on his heart from time to time.
Core Formation was paramount!
His gaze shifted downward.
Thanks to the advancement of three prerequisite spells—Water Mirror Art to Great Perfection, alongside Flower Fairy and the Spirit-Befuddling Technique—the third-rank illusion spell Mirror Flower, Water Moon had reached the Proficient level in tandem.
With prior preparation, it could now be used in battle to a passable degree.
Among the third-rank spells Luo Chen mastered, this spell ranked second only to Ninety Thousand Li.
The latter had already achieved Great Perfection!
It was precisely on the back of this trump card that he had dared to attack the Yan Alliance.
He possessed incredible speed: even if he couldn't win, he could always run!
Especially after assuming his Heavenly Roc True Body, Luo Chen's escape speed far outstripped that of ordinary Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
Even an ordinary early Golden Core cultivator's flight speed would likely fall short of his by thirty percent.
Speaking of which, his greatest gains over these years had not been these spells or cultivation methods, but his alchemy!
Through unrelenting, daily concoction, his alchemical foundation had been consolidated to an unimaginable degree.
Clear Source Wondrous Alchemy Technique at Great Perfection, Origin Cultivating Hand at Great Perfection, Star-Plucking Hand at Grandmaster, Scale Turning Hand at Consummate...
If one added the series of alchemical techniques that had long reached Great Perfection, such as the Washing Brook Hand and Pure Heart Hand, his mastery over foundational alchemy arts had achieved perfection, flowing effortlessly at his whim.
It was precisely because of this that he could easily achieve basic mastery over the second-rank Blood-Augmenting Pill and flesh out the second-rank Nether-Passage Pill recipe without relying on the system.
In a mere three years, he had even ground the Blood-Augmenting Pill, Dust-Descending Pill, and Spirit-Nurturing Pellet to Great Perfection.
He had also found time to concoct three portions of Emperor's Flowing Syrup to keep on hand for contingencies.
Compared to these, another pleasant surprise was that the physician profession he had practiced casually was gradually filling in its gaps.
He knew the basic Healing Art and Bone Restitution Art, and he had learned a first-rank Limb Reattachment Art from the Fanghua Classic that Sun Sifang had deposited in the Heritage Hall.
This Limb Reattachment Art was not some renowned Golden Silkworm Reconnecting Art. It was merely the simplest spell for reconnecting severed limbs. Concretely speaking, if someone tore Luo Chen's arm off at the shoulder right now, he could reattach it in short order.
It was quite a practical medical technique.
As for advanced medical spells, he had the Five Elements Viscera Restitution Art and the Spring Breeze and Rain Spell.
One could say he had acquired a solid general foundation in medical spells.
If he mastered a few more medicinal recipes and medical pill formulas, he could even set up a clinic outside to earn spirit stones.
Lastly, there were his achievement points.
Looking at the number 59, the corners of Luo Chen's mouth curled into a grin.
After grinding frantically for several years, he had restored his achievement points to a number that brought him peace of mind.
This resource seemed insignificant in daily life, but at critical junctures, it could work wonders!
Whether it was the Emperor's Flowing Syrup used for Foundation Establishment, the basic mastery of the Dust-Descending Pill during the Azure Pill Valley competition, or the deduction and creation of Myriad Dao Confluence in the Mount Thunder Accumulation ruins, all demonstrated its paramount value!
"The more, the better!"
"Only then will I have the confidence to deal with complicated, unforeseen crises."
After reviewing the panel, Luo Chen sank into deep thought.
His daily routine going forward would certainly center on alchemy and cultivation.
Yet the system panel showed that there were still many areas where he could improve or make additions.
For instance, after all these years, the Ageless Evergreen Scripture was finally nearing Great Perfection.
Would this core cultivation technique of a great sect undergo some transformation once brought to perfection? That was something to look forward to.
As for Myriad Dao Confluence, the idea of borrowing fire to temper his body could be put on hold for now, reserved for experimentation after Core Formation.
Spells and medicine did not require intensive study at the moment.
Alchemy was exercised in his daily concoctions anyway, so there was no need to deliberately focus on it.
"Blazing Miasma, then!"
"This is a fine technique, potent enough to contend with Golden Core cultivators."
"However, this skill is heavily reliant on the grade of the refined fiend-qi."
Luo Chen recalled the battle in Incense Burning Valley.
Although his Blazing Miasma was originally meant only as a cover for the Thunder Immortal Bead, it had been utterly routed beneath the assault of Qin Tairan's Blazing Sun True Fiend-Qi.
The crushing defeat was by no means due to the skill being weak, but because the vast quantities of second- and third-rank earth-fire fiend-qi were inferior in grade to the Blazing Sun True Fiend-Qi!
"Going forward, I can mobilize the strength of the Luotian Association and my network of connections to purchase high-grade, premium fiend-qi in bulk to replenish this consumable trump card."
"Preferably fire-attribute fiend-qi!"
"Something like that Blazing Sun True Fiend-Qi would be wonderful!"
Reviewing the past, surveying the present, and planning for the future—this was Luo Chen's purpose each time he browsed his attribute panel after a breakthrough.
Having thought it all through, Luo Chen closed the attribute panel, cast a Cleansing Art on himself, and walked out of the cultivation chamber.
His sharp divine sense had already detected a visitor.
***
"President, something huge has happened!"
Inside the immortal's cave, Luo Chen raised an eyebrow as he looked at Sima Huiniang, who wore a rare look of urgency.
He said composedly, "What has happened to make you so agitated? There's no rush. Speak slowly."
Sima Huiniang took a deep breath and enunciated each word: "The Tianshan Alliance! The Pioneering War!"
Something unexpected, yet entirely within reason, had occurred.
Even so, Luo Chen's expression jolted.
***
Tianlan Immortal City, the first floor of Zhongding House.
As one of the few businesses of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect spanning the entire territory, its atmosphere and style differed sharply from the sword sect itself, but a premier restaurant like Zhongding House was indeed the top dining choice for wealthy cultivators.
Famous spiritual dishes, feasts, and pastries largely originated from Zhongding House.
They could satisfy an ascetic cultivator's appetite while simultaneously benefiting their cultivation, so any cultivator with a bit of wealth would drop by every few days to treat themselves.
Naturally, such a place possessed strict class divisions.
Tianlan's Zhongding House comprised five stories in total.
The first floor was frequented by Qi Refining cultivators.
The second floor was generally accessible only to wealthy Qi Refining cultivators or Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
As for the third floor, only Golden Core Masters were permitted entry.
The fourth and fifth floors remained vacant year-round.
It was said they were reserved for Nascent Soul True Monarchs and Soul Formation Grand Divines.
Soul Formation existed in this world!
Though ordinary mortals never laid eyes upon them, legends of their travels were widespread.
If nothing else, the immortal's cave ruins of the Soul Formation Grand Divine Bai Ye at Mount Thunder Accumulation served as proof.
Rumor had it that within the sacred grounds of the Five Regions, several Soul Formation Grand Divines were engaged in secluded cultivation, striving toward the grand achievement of ascension!
Of course, whether a mere Zhongding House could prepare a spiritual feast to satisfy a Soul Formation Grand Divine was another matter entirely.
At the very least, Zhongding House was extraordinarily lively today.
On the second floor, a rare gathering of over a dozen Foundation Establishment True Cultivators was present, alongside several dozen wealthy Qi Refining cultivators dining upstairs.
As for whether these people had genuinely come to eat and enjoy spiritual food, that remained an open question.
At the very least, the man and woman sitting by the window were certainly not there merely to enjoy delicacies.
Luo Chen sipped warm wine as his powerful divine sense spread out as silently as gentle rain.
In truth, there was no need to eavesdrop with divine sense.
The second floor was abuzz with commotion, filled with fervent discussion.
Nearly all the topics revolved around the Pioneering War.
"Three years ago, during Ice Soul Fairy's Core Formation Grand Ceremony, all factions arrived to offer congratulations, but in reality, they were discussing a truce agreement between the two superior sects."
"Word has it that both Perfected Han Zhan and Perfected Jade Cauldron personally went to Tianshan and reached a consensus."
"Is this Pioneering War real or fake?"
"I'm afraid it's true. The cave ruins of the Grand Divine Bai Ye have already been sealed. It's said that people were sent over from the sacred ground, the Minyuan Sect."
"During his lifetime, the Grand Divine Bai Ye was a Soul Formation Patriarch of the Minyuan Sect, so it's only natural they sent someone. They probably couldn't bear to watch Jade Cauldron's internal strife squander the human race's strength any longer, so they ordered the Luoyun Sect to initiate the Pioneering War!"
"We received the news late. I heard the superior sects of other territories had long anticipated this and dispatched vanguards to Jade Cauldron Territory in advance to prepare for the Pioneering War."
"In the last Pioneering War, sixteen sects united to conquer the Lianxia Mountains, establishing the Jade Cauldron Territory. Who knows what kind of lineup we'll see this time."
"I don't know the lineup, but I do know this is an opportunity—a monumental chance for loose cultivators like us to rise to the heavens in a single bound!"
***
As discussions drifted into his ears, Luo Chen's expression grew increasingly solemn.
After a long while, he nodded to Sima Huiniang.
"It seems the news we received was accurate."
Far more than merely accurate!
The intelligence proactively sent from Ice Fort was even more detailed than what the crowd here was debating.
The East Desolation sacred ground, the Minyuan Sect, had indeed dispatched a Nascent Soul Elder to Jade Cauldron Territory.
The elder's first act had been to revoke the exploration rights of both the Sword Sect and the Luoyun Sect over Bai Ye's cave, temporarily sealing the ruins.
The second act was mediating the civil war between the two superior sects and ordering an immediate ceasefire.
The third act was directing the Luoyun Sect to launch an external war and open up the East Desolation's Million Mountains!
There were many intricate details involved.
The primary venue was Tianshan in Ice Fort, unfolding over the past three years.
The parties involved were not limited to the two superior sects and four Golden Core sects of Jade Cauldron Territory.
Over the past three years, cultivators from other territories had continuously traveled to Tianshan to negotiate the Pioneering War.
Sima Huiniang nodded and said solemnly, "The tentative date is set for fifty years from now!"
"Currently, the sects tentatively confirmed to participate in the Pioneering War include five Nascent Soul superior sects and thirteen Golden Core sects, spanning seven major territories."
The five Nascent Soul superior sects were led by the Luoyun Sect, supported by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, Tianfan City, the Medicine King Sect, and the Hehuan Sect!
These were all superior sects located relatively close by.
As for those thirteen Golden Core sects, aside from Jade Cauldron Territory's own four Golden Core sects, the other nine were by no means obscure entities.
And this was merely the preliminary lineup!
With a fifty-year preparation window, there was no telling how many more Golden Core sects and Nascent Soul superior sects would join in succession.
Everyone knew that while a Pioneering War incurred catastrophic casualties, the yields were equally staggering.
The Medicine King Sect reigned supreme over an entire territory, with its pills selling everywhere, precisely because they had participated in no fewer than five Pioneering Wars!
Each time, they could steadily force local Golden Core sects to migrate outward while expanding their pill trade into new territories.
Tianfan City was a rising power.
Evidently, they were emulating the Medicine King Sect's approach.
One could even say that in the recent Jade Cauldron civil war and the impending Pioneering War, they had played the most pivotal role behind the scenes.
Wherever there was warfare, the attrition of dharma artifacts and magic treasures was always highest.
Otherwise, a high-quality dharma artifact could be used by a cultivator for a century, repaired and used for another century, and passed down to descendants for yet another century.
If things continued like that, how would an artifact-forging sect earn spirit stones? Were they supposed to live on thin air?
Only war could cause rampant wear and tear on dharma artifacts and magic treasures, allowing Tianfan City to reap astronomical profits.
Imagining how many cultivators would flood into the fray when the war commenced fifty years from now, even Luo Chen felt his blood surge with excitement.
Yet after a fleeting burst of fervor, he forcefully regained his composure.
"During the war preparations, Jade Cauldron Territory will inevitably become the largest bridgehead, and Tianlan Immortal City lies toward the east."
"In fifty years, who knows how many Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and even Golden Core and Nascent Soul figures will converge on Tianlan Immortal City."
"No wonder Senior Sister Canglong told me to keep a low profile in advance."
"She likely had this concern in mind, fearing I might cross paths with existences I cannot afford to provoke."
Putting himself in another's shoes, Luo Chen turned to Sima Huiniang.
"Let the expansion of our Luotian Association end here as well!"
Sima Huiniang nodded. "I had the same thought. Our current business is already enough to sustain the association's three thousand cultivators. Even when you attain the Golden Core stage, President, we should still be able to support you. Expanding further would only invite disputes with others."
Shifts in the greater trend often swept small figures along in their wake.
Even someone as renowned as Luo Chen would sometimes find himself helpless in the face of such a torrential era.
Looking at the cultivators chattering endlessly in the Zhongding House restaurant, it was evident that the Pioneering War was already set in stone.
Otherwise, these people would never have received the news so quickly.
Shaking his head, Luo Chen stood up and walked downstairs.
Sima Huiniang paid the spirit stones and followed closely behind.
The two were hardly unknown in Tianlan Immortal City; seeing them move, countless eyes instinctively tracked them.
After they departed, plenty of whispers followed.
None of that concerned Luo Chen, however.
His primary focus remained on news regarding the Pioneering War.
A month after the Tianshan Alliance, even more detailed news arrived.
"Fenghua Palace, the superior sect of Fenghua Territory, has decided to participate; the Divine Talisman Sect of Divine Talisman Territory has decided to participate; and three other Golden Core sects have joined the Pioneering War."
"During the fifty-year preparation period, lethal combat between cultivators at or above the Golden Core stage is strictly prohibited within Jade Cauldron Territory. Violators will be held accountable by all seven Nascent Soul superior sects!"
"The Luoyun Sect and the Sword Sect will jointly establish an enforcement squad to patrol the entire territory!"
These three announcements completely quelled the restless ambitions of certain cultivators from other territories.
Those outsiders who had hoped to fish in troubled waters within Jade Cauldron Territory had no choice but to rein themselves in for the time being.
Even roving bandits had to pull back their hands and feet.
Otherwise, if caught by the enforcement squad, their very chance of reincarnation would be extinguished.
Inside his immortal's cave, Luo Chen looked at the intelligence delivered by Xing Zonghan and rubbed his temples.
Fenghua Palace's entry was actually within expectations.
The former grounds of the Yan Alliance were currently occupied by a first-rate force called Fengyu Mountain Villa.
One of the two Golden Core Masters who established Fengyu Mountain Villa hailed from Qifeng Gate in Fenghua Territory.
His name was Diwu Qi, and he was rumored to be a guest elder of Fenghua Palace.
He had arrived in Jade Cauldron Territory in advance as a vanguard, serving as an outpost for Fenghua Palace.
"Wind and rain gather here. Once the war erupts, I fear our Luotian Association will be swept into it as well."
"Faced with such an overwhelming tide, how should I position myself?"
Just as he was pondering the future, a calling card was delivered to his cave.
"To Dan Chenzi:
Six years have passed since our last meeting.
Though I did not witness in person your magnificent feat of storming the Yan Alliance and battling a Golden Core, its thunderous fame resonates in my ears as if it happened before my very eyes.
Such a heroic exploit! My only regret is that this old man could not fight by your side...
I have long heard of your profound alchemy attainments. I have several friends who share a passion for the Dao of Alchemy and wish to exchange insights with you.
I wonder when you might be free, so that we may behold your true countenance and discuss alchemy together.
—Respectfully penned by Helian Yun!"
Looking at the card, Luo Chen raised an eyebrow.
He had been back for three years. Though he kept to himself, he had never deliberately concealed his presence.
Over the past three years, many people had sought to visit him.
Most had been tactfully declined under the pretext of convalescing from his injuries.
This person, however, was worth meeting.
Helian Yun: founder of the Lianyun Merchant Alliance and its Grand Elder.
A figure at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment.
"Still, friends who share a passion for alchemy?"
Pondering the phrase, a meaningful look surfaced on Luo Chen's face.
Chapter 436